2.3 Software Development Process Models

For the software development process, the goal is to produce a high-quality software product. It therefore focuses on activities directly related to production of the software, for example, design, coding, and testing. As the development process specifies the major development and quality control activities that need to be performed in the project, it forms the core of the software process. The management process is often decided based on the development process.
 

A project’s development process defines the tasks the project should perform, and the order in which they should be done. A process limits the degrees of freedom for a project by specifying what types of activities must be undertaken and in what order, such that the “shortest” (or the most efficient) path is obtained from the user needs to the software satisfying these needs. The process drives a project and heavily influences the outcome.

As discussed earlier, a process model specifies a general process, usually as a set of stages in which a project should be divided, the order in which the stages should be executed, and any other constraints and conditions on the execution of stages. The basic premise behind a process model is that, in the situations for which the model is applicable, using the process model as the project’s process will lead to low cost, high quality, reduced cycle time, or provide other benefits. In other words, the process model provides generic guidelines for developing a suitable process for a project. Due to the importance of the development process, various models have been proposed. In this section we will discuss some of the major models.